FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Brooke Army Medical Center Commander Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Johnson held six town hall meetings with staff to address areas of concern and provide his feedback and actions based on the results of the recent Command Climate Survey.
More than 1,000 staff members completed the survey, which focused on equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity driven questions regarding discrimination, sexual harassment and assault and the general work environment.
“I want to spend some time reflecting back to you the things I heard inside of the Command Climate Survey,” Johnson said. “This is an opportunity to see ourselves and to learn so we can improve ourselves and continue to make this a great place.”
The general said there were many positive comments in the survey, but he wanted to focus on the challenges and how to best address the issues.
“It’s important to understand the barriers to reporting incidents. We must focus on removing the barriers,” he explained.
For many of the issues, the commander believes proactive education and training, an emphasis on leadership responsibility and accountability and a sense of transparency will help to remove barriers and improve trust within the organization.
“Everyone’s contributions are of value to this organization,” he said. “I’m looking at finding areas where we can have common policies and processes, which apply across our diverse workforce with differing business rules.”
The commander said he recognizes there are differences between Army, Air Force, civilian employees and contractors, but emphasized we are part of one team with one purpose.
The general concluded by focusing on the BAMC mission statement, which is to promote health and provide safe, quality, timely, compassionate, patient-centered care while developing health care professionals and optimizing readiness.
“This is where we remain focused,” he said. “My commitment is to provide the leadership necessary to focus the organization on mission accomplishment.”